Stargazing
by Waiyza
Summary: Luna helps Harry cope with his Godfather's death by simply spending an evening stagazing with him. Will Harry notice something that wasn't there before?


**Stargazing **

**By: Waiyza**

*****

Harry Potter sat on a rickety, cold bench staring at the star studded sky. It probably wasn't the safest place for him, but right now he didn't care. He probably should have been confined at Grimmauld place. But Molly Weasley had argued mercilessly with Albus Dumbledore to allow Harry to stay at the Burrow for a while, and soon he gave way. Mrs. Weasley didn't think Harry should immediately be immersed into that environment where all that was talked about was the inevitable war. But the main reason had been Sirius. Everything, _everything_ in that house from the hideous troll's leg to the screeching portrait of Mrs. Black would remind him of his fallen godfather, his father figure, his confidante, the knot that tied him to the past – to his parents. Sure, there was Lupin, but he had never been as close as Sirius. It seemed that he had grown even more distant since Sirius' demise. Lupin had even stopped by once to talk to Harry in a vain attempt to relieve both Harry and his grief. 

Harry at first was happy to see Lupin at the Weasley's, but his visit soon proved to be disappointing. He would pause to find the right words, but once he found them he would stumble over them. However, the wound proved to be too fresh for him to pick at because less than five minutes into his talk he suddenly got up and said he had to leave. He rushed out of the room without saying goodbye, or even looking at Harry, and he hadn't even clasped his hand as everyone else had.

Harry sighed and shifted in his seat. He looked up and stared at the sky seeking comfort in its darkness. It was a deep midnight blue streaked with evenly spread out lines of royal purple. The stars sprinkled the dark sky like the freckles on Ron's face.

The door behind Harry creaked open and he turned around to tell off whoever it was that disturbed his solitude. His eyes fell upon Luna Lovegood, and whatever he was going to say died in his throat. He had already yelled at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, but oddly couldn't make himself yell at the strange bug-eyed girl.

She lumbered toward him hopping over the forgotten gardening equipment. She took a seat next to him, gently nudging him to the side to make room for herself. Harry looked away. He began staring at his hands as if they were the most fascinating things in the world. They sat in utter silence for some time. 

Harry began picking at a fresh wound when she placed her small hand on his shoulder. At first he froze, but once he recovered from his shock he relaxed. He hadn't noticed how cold he was before, but when Luna placed her hand on his shoulder it sent shots of warmth down his back immediately thawing him. Strangely, he didn't mind her hand being there….it felt good.. When Hermione and even Mrs. Weasley had placed their hands on his shoulder to comfort him it had felt weird and uncomfortable. But Luna's hand felt like…like it belonged there...

Harry shifted and looked at his shoulder, but her hand remained there. No matter what he did her hand wouldn't leave his shoulder. It was as if someone had glued it there. But he didn't mind that much. She didn't massage his shoulder as if it was sore like everyone else had, she just gingerly place it there and had left it there. 

Harry cocked his head to the side and examined the petite girl who brought him this strange comfort. Her thin blonde hair was slightly wavy and it swayed with the sweet summer breeze. Her pink lips were wet and slightly parted. Her big eyes were opened wide, causing them to look even larger, as she intently stared at the sky. Suddenly her lips curved into a small smile, she seemed to be restricting herself from smiling wider. Harry didn't know why, personally he thought she looked pretty when she smiled. It wasn't an exotic, alluring pretty like Cho Chang, but a sweet, home-spun pretty. 

His thoughts were interrupted when she snapped her head to the side as he was doing and breathlessly said, "Hi Harry!"

He was taken aback for a moment, but managed to croak, "Hullo Luna." She gave him a goofy grin and then went back to staring at the sky.

"My dad used to tell me…" she began, but trailed off.

"What?" asked Harry who found himself suddenly very interested.

"When…when my mum died and I was sad, he used to tell me that she wasn't really gone, that she was really up in the stars watching over me," she said, her eyes not leaving the sky for one moment.

"See that star?" she looked at him and asked eagerly.

Harry looked at where she was pointing, but saw nothing.

"Do you see it? Do you see it? It's right there!" she cried pointing a shaking finger at the sky.

Harry looked again, but this time he saw it…the star seemed to be twinkling at him.

"I-I see it!" he told her excitedly.

Her face broke into a huge smile as he told her, "I _knew you would, I knew __you'd see it Harry!" _

He gave her a small smile and she continued to talk, "That star is named **Tarf** that means the eye! It's my mum -- she's really is watching over me…so whenever I'm sad and miss her I just go out to the sky and stare up at her and everything feels all right."

 Harry looked up at the sky, but didn't see it anymore. _There wasn't anything there! Why was he letting Luna Lovegood make him believe these absurd things?_ But, he quickly dismissed the thoughts. It _had been there, he had just seen it! He looked again and amazingly he saw it again! Luna had stopped talking and was giving him an odd look._

"Your friend…" she whispered in a hushed voice.

"My friend…? Who? Ron?" he asked her in a confused voice.

She stood up and looked up at the sky, "No, Sirius!"

Harry stood up too, "Sirius?" he choked.

She nodded and with her hand traced her hand around a constellation in the sky and then pointed to the brightest star in the constellation. He started at her in confusion. So she took his hand and traced the constellation with it. 

"Do you see that constellation?" she questioned.

He nodded slowly and said, "Yeah."

"That's the constellation Canis Major, and you see the brightest star in the constellation --the brightest star in the sky?"

He nodded again, but wasn't sure where this was going.

"Yes!" she said excitedly, "It's _Sirius the Dog Star!"_

"The dog star…" he said and then suddenly got it. He looked again at the sky and saw Sirius the Dog Star…it shone clearly tonight.

"See your friend isn't really gone. He's up there with my mum; he's watching over you…my mum took the form of an eye…"

Luna paused and traveled back in time. She was five, her mum's birthday was in a week and her dad took her out to buy her a gift. They spent hours milling over possible gifts at 'Ada's Antiques' an odd little shop owned by a peculiar witch named Ada. She couldn't find the right thing; each object her father handed her wasn't good enough. She wanted something _special. Finally her dad suggested that they try a different shop. They were halfway out the store when Luna spotted it. She yanked her dad back in and squealed, "Dad I think I found it!" It was a small brooch shaped as an eye. It was just the right color too – pale blue like her mums eyes, the eyes that she had inherited. When she got home Luna had wrapped the present in clashing bright yellow and pastel green. Her mother loved the gift. She wore it all the time…_

"Luna?" said Harry, who had been watching Luna this whole time. She had a glazed look on her face as if she wasn't entirely in this world.

Luna blinked several times then turning to Harry said, "My mum became Tarf, the eye, because that's what she thought best represented her…I wonder why your friend decided to be the Dog Star…" she trailed off and once again became her eccentric, aloof self.

Harry looked at her and suddenly had an urge to hug her, and he did it. He quickly gave her a brief, awkward hug, she didn't hug him back, in fact she didn't respond in any way. But when he let go, she had given him her most beautiful smile yet. Harry smiled back at her, his first genuine smile since summer had begun, two weeks ago. 

"I think I need to go now," she told him and he wanted to plead with her to stay, but decided against it, "My dad said I shouldn't be more than ten minutes…"

"Let me walk you out," said Harry, it was all he could offer in repayment of the comfort she had given him.

"OK!" she said enthusiastically, and she smiled widely as if he had just asked her to marry him.

She opened the garden door and walked out; Harry followed her but paused for a second to look at the sky once more. He easily found Sirius, he stared at it for longer than he meant, and Luna watched him silently. Suddenly the entire constellation twinkled at him, and Harry knew at that moment that Luna had given him the greatest gift in the world. He turned to her, took her hand, and walked her to her father who was patiently waiting for her. She smiled at him for the fourth time in the night, and he whispered, "Thanks."

*

**Notes: **The star 'Tarf' and the constellation 'Canis Major' were found here:   It's a real nifty site that tells you the meanings of star names. However the fact that Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and is known as the 'Dog Star' were found here:   


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